MiRNAs methylation and ecological adaptation sans mutations

By: James V. Kohl | Published on: April 17, 2014

MiRNAs methylation and ecological adaptation sans mutations
 Our 2003 Molecular and Cellular Biology paper …opened the mechanistic ‘black box’ of the developmental origins of adult disease susceptibility, and firmly placed the word, epigenetics, in the vernacular of this research field.”  — Randy Jirtle (2009)
Our 1996 Hormones and Behavior paper included a section on molecular epigenetics with evidence that attested to the involvement of epigenetics in the context of olfactory/pheromonal input and the developmental origins of hormone-organized and hormone-activated adult sexual behavior. — James V. Kohl (2014)
Our model was extended to invertebrates in 2000 and to the life history transitions of honeybees in 2005. The model now links the experience-dependent RNA-mediated induction of olfactory receptor gene expression from nutrient-dependent pheromone-controlled ecological adaptations to the creation of species biodiversity in species from microbes to man via conserved molecular mechanisms, which also are linked to perturbed protein folding and the developmental origins of disease. For example see 1, 2, & 3 below with my comments.
1) Odor memories regulate olfactory receptor expression in the sensory periphery. “…olfactory receptor expression is experience-dependent and modulated by scent conditioning…”
Scent conditioning of olfactory receptor (OR) expression  is clearly linked from invertebrates to vertebrates via nutrient uptake in:
2) A Cluster of Olfactory Receptor Genes Linked to Frugivory in Bats.
The authors addressed the experimental “… evidence for ecological niche specialization linked to the evolution of the OR gene repertoire across all major clades of eutherian mammals.”
Taken together with this report:
3)  Large Numbers of Novel miRNAs Originate from DNA Transposons and Are Coincident with a Large Species Radiation in Bats,
these articles conclusively link the epigenetic landscape of invertebrates to the physical landscape of DNA in the organized genomes of invertebrates and vertebrates via the nutrient-dependent assembly of “…functional miRNAs…” that “…influenced the diversification of Vespertilionidae [mammals].”
Thus, the link from food odors to miRNAs and to protein folding required for the de novo creation of OR genes in invertebrates and vertebrates is perfectly clear in the context of conserved molecular mechanisms that link the biophysically constrained nutrient-dependent pheromone-controlled physiology of reproduction to species diversity in species from microbes to man.
Academically irresponsible suppression of accurate representations that detail biophysically-constrained biologically-based cause and effect may continue to delay scientific progress, which might otherwise be made via use of a model that links ecological variation from atoms to ecosystems. Clearly, those who Dobzhansky (1964) labeled ‘bird watchers’ and ‘butterfly collectors’ will continue to tout their pseudoscientific nonsense.
However, they can now be categorized as modern-day antagonists who are still living in an era of ignorance. They continue to ignore the basic principles of biology and levels of biological organization required to link the sensory environment directly to behavior.  That leaves them to tout theories about mutation-initiated natural selection or mutation-driven evolution, which gained popularity despite the lack of experimental evidence to support them.


Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

[…] This is part 2 of  MiRNAs methylation and ecological adaptation sans mutations. See also: MiRNAs methylation and ecological adaptation sans mutations […]


Want more on the same topic?

Swipe/Drag Left and Right To Browse Related Posts: